Music, and the Reshaping of The American Dream
You would think that living in the wealthiest nation the world has ever seen, we could all figure out how to have enough and be happy. However we live in a world polarized between the perceived “haves” and “have nots”. As many “Occupy” folks will point out, the vast amount of the wealth is controlled by a disproportionate 1% of the few, while “Occupy” detractors have pointed out that virtually anybody living in America makes up the 1% when you consider the population of the entire world.
A question we are told to ask ourselves often is “are you better off”? When a presidential election comes around for example, you are told to ask this about yourself in the context of the last four years. Now with a multi-year economic malaise whose recovery seems shaky at best and only seems to be benefiting a few, some are asking if this “are you better off?” question will be asked between generations, that the idea of The American Dream, where you can come to this country as a poor immigrant, pull yourself up by your boot straps, afford to send your kids to college, and have middle to upper class wealth become a possibility for your family, is dying.
One of the economic sectors people focus on is unemployment; once again a measure whose importance or status depends on your perspective. But one unemployment factor never seen before is allowing us to rethink The American Dream from a different perspective: people leaving the workforce outright. And not just retirees, but young people who are starting their own little sustenance jobs and working for themselves, or living off of previously-accumulated wealth for years by conservation. Some of these folks work part time, and decide to spend the rest of the time with their family, or exploring the world around them instead of slaving away at the traditional 40 hour work week.
For previous generations, the only way that people would measure that “Are you better off?” question was by their personal wealth and material possessions. Now people are realizing that the wealth they were working to accumulate was at the expense of their life experience, their family life, their natural propensity as humans to explore, and many times, at the expense of their health. So many folks are deciding to go with less to get more out of life, and so even though the answer to the “Are you better off?” question economically is “no,” the answer to the general question is “yes!”
Instead of declaring the death of The American Dream, perhaps it is changing from one that uses traditional economic parameters to gauge it’s health, to ones that instead gauge the happiness and fulfillment of the individual. Instead of people craving wealth, they are craving simplicity. Money and wealth will always be important, but the promise of wealth as a bridge to happiness is a broken one. But you will not hear that from the polarizing elements of politics, that either want to use your lack of wealth to create envy, or your possession of wealth to create fear you will lose it.
And what does this all have to do with music? Well, nothing, and everything.
Music is the weapon of the great awakening, and the bullhorn in the reshaping of The American Dream. It is such a great tool of wisdom because it can be naturally engaging and universally appealing. (Though many times it is used to entrench ideology, create rabid consumerism, and as a weapon of the culture war.)
The problem with politics, religion, secularism, idealism, etc, as vehicles for change is that in the current cultural climate all of these elements are rabidly polarizing, and have a reactionary effect on individuals depending on their leanings. Only music and art can speak to the human soul universally. That is also why I am so against politics using music as a vehicle if it is done so in a direct manner. If your message can’t be subtle, and can’t be conveyed without the blurring of specific ideologies, then it cannot impact the human heart universally. And if the message cannot be blurred, the question should be asked if it is fit for the human heart?
So instead of looking at politics or ideological movements as realistic agents of change, we should look towards art and music, and let the lessons of artistic expressions enter our hearts.
So to the many people who will declare the death of The American Dream, I declare that it has just begun.
February 14, 2012 @ 5:09 pm
Triggerman philosophized before it was popular.
February 14, 2012 @ 5:39 pm
Well said.
February 14, 2012 @ 5:50 pm
Trying to figure out where to get the money to live simply…
February 14, 2012 @ 6:04 pm
Well, I’d love to sing about it, but so far I haven’t come up with an artsy way to paraphrase this. The entire left vs right, R vs D paradigm is an illusion. Chasing “money” is NOT the way to go. This entry from the Congressional record puts some evidence behind the point that McDougall nailed down. I’m hesitant to post it here because technically, it’s “political” but if we’re gonna reboot the American Dream…
The Bankruptcy of the United States.
United States Congressional Record, March 17, 1993 Vol. 33, page H-1303
http://www.apfn.net/doc-100_bankruptcy.htm
February 14, 2012 @ 6:15 pm
…guess I could say it this way 😉 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWx8e2MpXKY
February 14, 2012 @ 6:44 pm
Okay, I was NOT expecting a voice like that to come from him! Great song.
I just found this online detailing the Ten Happiest Countries in the world. The words ‘Wealth’ and ‘Prosperous’ are pretty ambiguous and mean different things to different people. Quite a few American’s immigrate to NZ as they like the fact that we don’t really care about status and wealth. It’s the kind of place people work to live, not the other way around. It’s a society very motivated by having a nice, relaxing lifestyle. Or maybe that just makes us lazy? Hmmm.
http://www.therichest.org/misc/happiest-countries-in-the-world/
I really like your comment “Only music and art can speak to the human soul universally”. Both of these things make me very very happy and contribute enormously to uplift and inspire me.
I was fascinated that Norway, Denmark and Finland featured at the top of the happiness chain and wondered if these countries are rich in art and music and this is one reason the people there are so damned happy?!?
February 14, 2012 @ 6:45 pm
PS Money won’t make you happy but I’d rather be crying in a Mercedes than on a bicycle.
February 14, 2012 @ 8:00 pm
But you’re more likely to be crying if you’re riding a bicycle but desire a Mercades, when really you should just get a Toyota.
Which way does the water swish around the toilet bowl south of the equator again?
February 14, 2012 @ 9:01 pm
The opposite way to yours. Your toilets freak me out by the way. The hole is bigger and the water level much higher. I’m always sure things will end badly when I’m near one.
February 14, 2012 @ 6:47 pm
Well said, Triggerman. I have never liked political songs, at least not directly political songs. If someone wants to make a political point via music, it needs to be done in the context of telling a human story that makes me empathize with the characters involved. Beating someone over the head with ideology only appeals to people who already agree with you. No one is going to consider another point of view unless you take a different approach.
February 15, 2012 @ 6:20 am
alrighty then. let’s all go back to from where we came. last one out close the door.
February 15, 2012 @ 6:31 am
Was just thinking the other day about the connection between the roots music movement and the roots political movements….i dont know if there’s a strong one, but i think the argument can be made
February 15, 2012 @ 7:55 am
“All folks ever seem to care about is wealth, but wealth is death.” – Lonesome Wyatt
February 15, 2012 @ 9:45 am
‘there are no kings inside the gates of eden.’ bob dylan
February 16, 2012 @ 8:12 pm
These are all first world problems and everything we complain about is relative to what we desire or expect! I labor for a living and struggle from paycheck to paycheck.If I really wanted more I would go back to school or get a night gig.The point is,it is out there if you are willing to go out and work for it.I personally believe the LEFT has made our prospects worse,however the RIGHT being closer to what I believe has not done much better.Having said all of this I can scrounge up enough money for a cd I really want,or a live show and no matter how much the feds tax my smokes,I will always have enough as long as I enjoy them with my gin! You see it it is all relative to what we desire or expect.PEACE
February 17, 2012 @ 4:44 pm
Rage Against The Machine used music to make a political statement. That was as raw and real as it gets.
February 19, 2012 @ 11:43 am
Love your site and love this post – for the most part. But come on – there’s some great political songs out there, especially country songs. Haggard comes to mind most readily. “Rainbow Stew” mocked the environmentalist, big government movement way, way, way before it was fashionable, and “Where’s all the freedom?” is an apt message about taking away our liberties. There’s obviously plenty more, from him and from others.
One reason I love country music so much – and most country fans I’m sure would agree – is because it operates in a moral universe in which its characters are free. Free to sin, and free to encounter God’s grace afterwards. So even songs that aren’t explicitly political nevertheless presuppose a particular kind of world, a world in which human freedom is possible, real and meaningful (moral) choices are possible, etc. I happen to think these freedoms are being eroded deliberately on virtually a daily basis by our political establishment (and I think both parties, though the Democrats more than the Republicans) are to blame for this. So I therefore think that as government control increases, and human freedom concomitantly (and necessarily) decreases, the kind of moral and emotional landscape of freedom in which country music makes sense – and can only make sense – will also contract, and the genre will suffer.
In fact, maybe that’s one reason why there’s so much crap coming out of Nashville these days. Could it be our moral visions have become clouded by a constricting world which gives us less and less freedom and fewer and fewer opportunities to make really meaningful choices? And can good music – and especially country music – thrive in such a restricted landscape? And if not, wouldn’t music – and especially country music – seem to require a certain kind of prior political landscape in order for it to flourish?
Thanks again for your thoughts Triggerman – always appreciate it, and thanks for reading.
February 19, 2012 @ 1:57 pm
Totally agree on “Rainbow Stew”, it is one of my favorite songs of all time, but I would say it’s not a political song, but an anti-political song as you point out, kind of mocking one side of the reactionary political machine. I’ve heard people from both the right and left say that love that song, both thinking it was written from their point of view. THAT is how you can tell it’s good songwriting.
Good comment!
February 21, 2012 @ 5:03 pm
I think that if left-leaning people – especially environmentalists – take it as favoring their position then they haven’t read the lyrics! Glad we agree on how great that song is though. Incidentally, I also really like Jason Boland’s version from the Rockies album, as well.
February 22, 2012 @ 9:52 pm
I’m not sure if I completely get this one. I mean, I understand what you’re saying but I just don’t see the evidence that people are beginning to rethink what happiness means. To me it seems like the majority of people are more shallow and disingenuous than ever. Look at how our society practically worships celebrities for no reason (miley cyrus, bieber, etc..) Then when you watch tv or listen to popular music the theme most always is money, fame, sex, etc. The quote at the top of the page (which I love by the way) about music being a microcosm of a society in ruins sums it up perfectly. That’s why I love what I find here. It’s real and authentic. I just don’t see that elsewhere
February 25, 2012 @ 3:36 am
I can totally see what you’re saying, Trig. I see a big difference between my parents’ generation and my own. (I’m 36) My parents’ viewpoint (and my wife’s parents, for that matter) was always, “Oh, you’re set for life, you’ve got a steady job”, or “Well, you may not like it, but at least it’s a job”. Basically, go to college, get a job, marry, make babies, retire and die. Not only does that sound like a shitty, boring life, to me, but it’s all a big lie. I’ve seen the manufacturing sector collapse, or get sent overseas, so the option of working for the same company for 30+ years and then retiring isn’t even realistic, anymore. I’d rather make $30,000 a year, live in the country, and love what I do, than make $100,000, live in the city, and be miserable.
The gripe I have with people in our country is that they don’t pay attention to what the dicks in Washington are doing. As long as they have their smartphones, droids, and get to watch “American Idol” or “Dancing with the Stars” every night, they’re content. If they really took the time to realize how politicians are wrecking our country and taking away our freedoms, there would be a million people on the Capitol Building’s front steps with pitchforks and torches.
The same is true with music, especially country. People just eat up the over-produced music, sappy lyrics, and horrible songwriting, then come back for seconds. I truly do not get it. Is it that they’re lazy and don’t want to look for good music, or do they just think that since that’s what is on radio, that’s the best there is? Surely, with the explosion of the internet, Youtube, etc, that is no longer an excuse. Nobody could doubt, though, that there is an intentional, and very intense, “dumbing-down” of America going on. Big government keeps you fat, dumb and happy with handouts, while simultaneously taking away your freedoms. Big radio keeps you fat, dumb and happy by feeding you sugary, watered-down, pop-country crap, while simultaneously keeping the truly talented artists from ever getting on radio. Thank God for the internet, but even that is coming under attack from the feds.
September 3, 2013 @ 6:16 am
Size doesn’t matter, because the richest country in the world is also one of the smallest. A major factor is about how much oil you produce. President Obama wants to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but “foreign oil” is what jettisoned many of these countries into the top 10.
http://www.celebritynetworth.com/articles/how-much-does/what-are-the-richest-countries-in-the-world/